Exit 8

Next up in my double feature last night was Exit 8, a Japanese psychological horror film based on the video game of the same name.  The central conceit becomes a bit tedious as it goes on but I found it very thought-provoking.  The Lost Man (Kazunari Ninomiya) is riding the subway on his way to work when his ex-girlfriend (Nana Komatsu) calls him to tell him that she is pregnant with his child and to ask him what she should do.  This news is very overwhelming to him and, as he tries to exit the subway station, he soon finds himself in an endlessly looping corridor underground.  He eventually learns that the way to reach Exit 8 is to turn back whenever he sees an anomaly in the corridor.  If he doesn't turn back when an anomaly appears, he returns to Exit 0 which resets his progress.  While on his seemingly interminable journey, he encounters The Walking Man (Yamato Kochi) and The Boy (Naru Asanuma), who are also trapped in the corridor for various reasons, but only one of them can help him reach Exit 8.  I found the allegory about what you should prioritize in life to be very powerful, if a bit on the nose, and I loved the juxtaposition between the life represented by the Walking Man versus the one represented by The Boy.  I also liked the exploration of how important it is to be present in the moment (symbolized by the anomalies).  As I previously mentioned, seeing the exact same location, a sterile white tiled hallway, for most of the runtime is sometimes mind-numbing (which is the point) but the unsettling sound design and some of the more elaborate anomalies (especially an homage to The Shining) definitely kept my attention.  Finally, the use of Maurice Ravel's Bolero during both the opening and end credits is absolutely brilliant because it features a single repeating melody that builds in intensity.  I liked this (it was fun to see it with a big crowd late at night) and would recommend it.